Diversity and Equity: Professional Hopes and Goals

The hopes that I have when thinking about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is that every early learning professional will:

·   Have a dog eared and highlighted copy of NAEYC’s publication titled Anti-Bias Education and they are implementing anti-bias practices in all the classrooms they work in;

·   On an annual basis, participate in a professional development opportunity that will enhance their work to support social justice and equity;

·  Have the self-esteem and knowledge to feel secure enough to defend any opposition to social justice and equity; and

·  All early learning professionals will be passionate in their role to advocate for a more just society; supporting all children and families to feel whole.

One goal I would like to see accomplished in the field of early childhood is that training and/or discussion of implementing anti-bias curriculum is constant in all early learning programs.  Just as our individual diversity is complex, implementation of anti-bias curriculum is complex.  For early learning professionals to support big outcomes related to social justice and equity for all, anti-bias curriculum implementation needs to be a topic on every training and staff meeting agenda.

This may be the last week of my Perspectives on Diversity and Equity college class but the knowledge shared by my colleagues in these last eight weeks will influence my work with children and families far into the future.  I would like to extend my gratitude to each of you for adding so much value to my professional and personal life; I have become a much better person because of your contribution to my education.

Welcoming Families from Around the World

 

The following is a scenario describing how a teaching team can support a 4-year-old girl, Laetitia, from the country of Belize in the Caribbean as she and her family transition to a Head Start classroom in the United States of America.  To support the success of Laetitia and her family I am recommending we take the following steps so Laetitia feels welcome, safe and nurtured in the classroom at all times and our family services personnel can support the family in meeting their identified goals as a new family in the United States.

·        A picture of Laetitia’s home land will be posted in the classroom on her first day of school.

·        The teaching team will learn a few words in the French language; a greeting and manners such as ‘thank you’ and ‘you’re welcome’.

·        By conducting a home visit before Laetitia’s first day of school will ease her stress as she will be meeting the teaching team in the comfort of her home instead of meeting us for the first time in a new environment.  During this home visit the following action steps will be completed:

o   Using a digital camera we will take a picture of Laetitia so we can take the photograph and put on her cubby next to her printed name;

o   Using a digital camera we will take a family picture so on the first day of school Laetitia can take the framed photograph and place it on our bookshelf with other family photographs.

o   We will record either Laetitia’s mom or dad pronouncing Laetitia’s name so all adults working with Laetitia’s at the Head Start center will listen to the recording in hopes we can all pronounce Laetitia’s name correctly before the first day of school.

o   During our interview with the family we will ask the family if they have a traditional meal that we could include in our breakfast or lunch menu.

o   A formal invitation written in French will be extended to the family inviting them to the classroom to share information about their culture with other children in the classroom.  This invitation will be extended several times throughout the school year.  (An interpreter will be available to translate from French to English)

Prejudice without Prior Knowledge

The following video is a little over nine minutes long.  In those nine minutes my emotions went from anger to tears.  I was horrified by racial behavior targeted at a beautiful young lady because she is wearing a Hijaab, a traditional head scarf worn by Muslim women, trying to order an apple turnover in a bakery.  The clerk is refusing to sell the young lady an apple turnover and the surrounding customers are either pretending not to witness the brutal and demoralizing racism or they are supporting the behavior by agreeing with the clerk or giving him thumbs up.  The scene is staged with the clerk and the young lady being actors but the customers have no clue that they are acting while the young lady is the victim of extreme racism.  I am surprised she had the energy to continue with the staging as long as she did.  The demeaning behavior towards her had to of been emotionally draining.  It is during the last few minutes of the video that my anger subsides and I am reduced to tears because, finally, some customers did not hold back on supporting the young lady by walking out of the bakery or demanding the clerk to serve the young lady.

I do not feel there is an opportunity for greater equity in this video unless the customers who are so filled with racism were to change.  Their behavior is evidence that we still have a lot of work to do in supporting social justice and equity for all.